The Scottish Government has granted consent for SSE’s Berwick Bank offshore wind farm, after a decade of development work.

The 4.1GW Berwick Bank offshore wind farm, located around 38km east of the Scottish Borders coastline, should become the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The offshore wind farm array would comprise up to 307 installed offshore wind turbines across a 1,010 square km marine site. Each turbine would be installed on a fixed bottom foundation.

Delivery of the project will now be subject to SSE securing a contract for new low-carbon offshore wind power under the UK’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, as well as reaching a final investment decision.

Berwick Bank has the potential to create 9,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the UK at peak construction – with around 4,650 of these jobs in Scotland. Over the project’s expected lifetime, it is estimated Berwick Bank could inject £8.3 billion of value into the UK economy.

Stephen Wheeler, MD, SSE Renewables said: “The Scottish Government’s decision to grant a consent order for Berwick Bank Offshore Wind Farm is hugely welcome. At over 4GW of potential capacity, Berwick Bank can play a pivotal role in meeting the mission of Clean Power 2030 for the UK and achieving Scotland’s decarbonisation and climate action goals.”

The Berwick Bank Wind Farm project previously comprised of two separate offshore wind farm proposals, Berwick Bank and Marr Bank. Following initial rounds of consultation, the two projects were combined into a single 4.1GW renewable energy development opportunity in September 2021.

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